Norris puts McLaren’s poor running perspective and the teams British driver attempts to explain the testing plight. Lando Norris says the McLaren team may not have had the most productive winter test of the entire grid, but he is not worried about the situation ahead of the 2023 season.
Although McLaren did not have the pre-season testing it wanted, the team may not be in as bad a shape as it seems according to Lando Norris.
During the three days of winter testing in Bahrain last week – a week before the start of the season at the same track – the McLaren team had the lowest mileage of any team on the grid, partly due to technical issues that forced the drivers to spend a lot of time in the garage.
Updates coming
Despite the lacklustre testing, Lando Norris believes that there is reason to be optimistic for the 2023 season, which promises to be a long one with no less than 23 Grands Prix on the programme.
“I don’t think we’re in as bad a place as it seems. We might not be as strong as we want to be, but we’re not as bad as people think we are,” Norris said in Bahrain on Thursday.
“But I don’t want to speak too quickly, because at the same time we’ll have to see how it goes [this weekend]. But we’ve got some good things in the pipeline, so I’m looking forward to it all.”
“We also have to test them and see if it all works properly, etc…but it’s a long season, so I’m also looking forward to the last part [to see where McLaren will be].”
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“I’m excited to be back racing actually, that’s the main thing for me. It’s always good to get back in the car for [winter] testing, but the fun really comes at the weekend when it’s qualifying and the race.”
“Other than that, I have no idea where we are. I guess we’re among the top teams, but I think it’s going to be close and we’ll be fighting for some points, hopefully, that’s our goal this weekend anyway.”
This year, Lando Norris has a new teammate: Australian Oscar Piastri, who is starting his Formula 1 career at the age of 21.
